I’ve mentioned in several posts about my Holiday Planning Binder but I don’t know if I’ve ever really shared what it looks like. It’s definitely nothing fancy… just an old Trapper Keeper that the kiddos didn’t use and the folders are old pocket folders that they aren’t using. I really like that it zips up because it helps to keep everything contained really well and prevents the inevitable spillage that happens when you have kiddos running around.

This is what the outside of the planner looks like… nothing special at all but the fact that it is purple helps me to identify it from other binders on the shelf and I can tell almost anyone to grab me the purple binder and they have no trouble finding it all. I probably should’ve tried to clean it up a bit before the pictures but this is how LIFE goes around here and these smudges and smears remind me of all the little blessings that are running through my house!

I really like that it has a zipper pouch where I can stash writing utensils, notepads, and anything else I might need for planning. I usually keep a supply of tamps in here as well and a list of addresses for Christmas cards. I will also tuck any catalogs that I have ordered from or plan to order from so I can keep them handy for reference if needed.

As you can see…. nothing special here either. I have several folders and each is labeled with a special occasion and each folder contains notes, recipes, and ideas for these celebrations as well as past menus and notes. I don’t have one for Easter but I think those notes are in the Yellow folder right now… I need to make a new folder for Easter as we have been trying to host an Easter Egg hunt for the kiddos and a covered dish meal for everyone.

Here is our Thanksgiving folder… Yes, those are frogs on it… I’m sure I had plans to upgrade all of these folders when I first started this but LIFE happens and things get forgotten about. Maybe one day I’ll change these out to something a little nicer but this works for now.

You can see that I have copies of old menus and a stack of favorite recipes. This makes planning so much easier to have everything right at your fingertips and not be looking through cookbooks, blog posts, recipe boxes, or that pile of recipes that you have printed out to try… everyone has a pile like that, right? This also works great when someone needs a copy of the macaroni and cheese recipe that I made for Thanksgiving last year or the recipe for the rolls I always make at Thanksgiving… I can find it quickly and easily!

Behind the menus I have some notes that I wrote out many years ago to help me keep on track… please excuse the messy handwriting. This list is broken down into small steps and spread out to help keep me from feeling overwhelmed. I was using this lisr before I found the FlyLady Holiday Control Journal, and I still use it most often.

This list also works as a guideline for other parties or special occasions that you may need to prepare for.

I’ll try to post more views of the other folders as I come to them but for now this is what we are focusing on for the upcoming holiday and I hope this helps you have a better idea of what your planner might need. Don’t spend a fortune or worry about not having something pretty… just start putting all of your notes and recipes into one place for now. It can be a folder, a small box, a basket, or a small tote… just getting them all into one place will help you tremendously. Throw an old (or new) notebook in there too so you can make notes as you go.

After the holiday I will review this again to see if I need to ask for new recipes for dishes that others may have brought or if I made any significant changes. I will also jot down ideas that others may have suggested for the next get-together so we can try to incorporate them. Sometimes I take a few pictures of the decorations or sketch them out so I can remmber what I did for the following years… I might need to do that this year as this is the first year that we have actually put up all of our Fall decor!

It’s not difficult to get a little more organized and you will find that it does make life so much easier!